


Living In My Memories Of You

by BogAngel



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone is around 22-23, F/F, Fluff, Flynn & Nick Friendship (unexpected but it's good), Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Julie & Carrie Friendship, Manager Flynn and Rockstar Julie, Mutual Pining, Pining, Slow Burn, The boys have crossed over in this fic so Julie is trying to heal, The four of them form a found family eventually, This fanfic is one big Flynn appreciation post tbh, attempted humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29129577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BogAngel/pseuds/BogAngel
Summary: Julie and Flynn, like lots of childhood best friends, grew apart with age. However, when the guys suddenly cross over, Julie finds herself grieving and in need of a manager for her sudden solo career. Who better to contact than Flynn who is now a full time PR agent for musicians?
Relationships: Flynn/Julie Molina, Past Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 22
Kudos: 25





	1. Memories Of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for clicking on my fic! I really hope you enjoy. I got really inspired when I listened to Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo, so that's the vibe for the first chapter. I recommend listening to the song when reading!
> 
> Anyways, comments and kudos are always appreciate.

Flynn laid in her bed, staring at her ceiling, wondering how she'd gotten there in life. Awake at two in the morning, alone and lonely. Her life wasn’t bad, no, not at all. It, from most perspectives, was wonderful. A nice apartment, a stable job as a PR manager and some friends. 

However, while laying in her linen sheets by herself in a queen sized bed, a loneliness settled over her like a suffocating blanket. It was just her and the plants that she had given names to. 

She sighed before sitting up, looking at her hands, stretching them out before her before fiddling with the single golden bracelet on her wrist. The star and moon charm dangled delicately off the chain, their golden hue faded over time as silver shone through. Flynn remembered tan hands with purple nails latching the clip of the friendship bracelet. She remembered the hug afterwards and the bright smile on Julie’s face. 

Shaking the memories out of her head, Flynn got out of her bed. The hardwood floor was cold underneath her feet and the room was dark except for the twinkling fairy lights around her window.

She looked at her closet, the thought of her memory box crossing her mind before she pushed that thought away by saying to herself, “Nope, not doing that to myself.” 

Instead, she headed her way to the kitchen to grab a soda. Even as a twenty three year old, soda was still her go to for when she was feeling down and, no, it didn’t matter that it was two in the morning. As she sat on a stool at her counter, sipping her soda, she scrolled through her phone. There were texts she didn’t want to respond to, a full calendar filled with meetings and posts that barely got a chuckle out of her. She shut off her phone, tapped her fingers on the counter a few times before she stood up, walking quickly back to her room. 

The closet doors were open now and she sighed to herself but continued anyways, “Guess I am doing this.” 

She reached up to the top of the closet and pulled out a medium sized, bedazzled box. She smiled softly as she traced the words 'never forget' that was written in rhinestones. With a deep breathe in, she opened the box and the first item visible was a graduation picture from high school. 

Her, Carrie, Nick and Julie all stood in cap and gown with big smiles on their faces. They had formed a little group back in high school after the whole Caleb fiasco had happened. Defeating an evil, jazzy magician ghost really brought people together. They were an unlikely crew, but they understood each other better than anyone else back then. Shared supernatural experience did that to people. 

Flynn turned the graduation photo around to see small messages written from everyone in the photo. 

_'You're a queen and never forget that. Better stay in touch or I'll kill you <3' - Carrie_

Her and Carrie had mostly lost touch with the rising fame of Dirty Candi. They had tried to occasionally get coffee before they both got extremely busy. Even though she still got the occasional text check in, any interaction with Carrie was few and far between. She guessed that was adulthood as a sort of numb acceptance wash over her. 

_'Stay cool, Flynn! Can't wait to see you go off and do great things :)'- Nickey Poo_

Weirdly enough, Nick was the only one in the photo that she had managed to stay in the touch with. Nick hadn't gone off to be famous but instead chose to be a music teacher/lacrosse coach. After everything that happened with Caleb, it made sense for him to choose a slower paced life. Flynn was grateful for him. Nick had become one of her closest friends, someone she could confide in. Even if it was he just brought a twelve pack of diet cokes when he came to listen to her rant about work. The simplicity of it is what she needed sometimes. 

She ran her fingers over the next set of words, _'Wouldn't be where I am if I was flying solo without you! Love you always and forever' - Julie_

The words stung against her fingertips. It wasn't either of their faults, really, it was a matter of schedule and time. The more they got into adult life, the busier their schedules were. As time went on, there was no room anymore in Julie's life to just hang out. Flynn knew that people grew apart all the time but, somehow, she never thought it would happen to them. It stung to be abandoned for the greater lights of fame, but she scolded herself for thinking like that. Julie deserved all of it. Every single spotlight she was under and all of the adoring fans. She deserved it. 

Instead of continuing to dwell on it, she carefully placed the graduation photo next to her and continued through the box. Most of it was photos or small keepsakes, though, one photo stuck out to her as she continued. It was Julie and her in the old studio, sitting together, with three light orbs floating in the room. She smiled as she tried remembering the placement of the three ghost boys at the time. Reggie was on the couch, Alex was on the piano and Luke was right next to Julie. That’s where he always was, it only made sense for that light orb to be him. 

She remembered how she felt when she watched Julie and Luke share a mic on stage together, a fire in their eyes. A small, burning jealousy would fill her core, but she always pushed it down and ignored it. She would make jokes about how Julie’s crush was a bad idea, but she knew it would never get through. They were in love, at least at the time, and Flynn wasn’t going to stand in the way of her best friend finding love. Not that it mattered in the end anyways. Flynn wasn’t in the picture anymore. 

Upon realizing that she was making herself feel even more lonely, Flynn started to put away all the memories until she noticed a braided bracelet underneath a Polaroid. She gently pulled it out to see pink and purple strings that had faded from wear and time. After looking at it for a full minute, she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. It was snug but it still fit. 

For a second, she thought of putting it back on the box but something compelled her to keep it on. Maybe what compelled her was the photos of Julie smiling right next to her, or the small messages she left on some of the polaroid's Flynn took. She wasn’t sure, but either way she had two fading bracelets on her wrist. Two reminders of things that were firmly in the past. She stopped fiddling with the bracelet, shaking her head, as she put the rest of the items back. 

After she put the box back into the closet to collect dust, Flynn finally laid back down in her bed. In the morning, she would return to her routine. Go to the office, work with her clients, eat lunch with Nick if he’s not busy and then she would go home to no one but her beloved plants. It stung, it truly did, but she could sleep the burning off. At least, in her head she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on updating this fanfiction every two days so keep an eye out for those if you've enjoyed thus far!!
> 
> If you want to interact with me more, check out my tumblr: threeghosts-nobraincells. Have a lovely day, reader.


	2. Coming Back Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of angst about the guys crossing over in this chapter! I feel bad for hurting Julie but I promise it doesn't stay this way. Thanks for reading more of this fic, I really appreciate every single one of you. Remember that comments and kudos are always appreciated, lovelies.

The next day, she finished talking to one of her newer clients. An up and coming band of younger men with little to no idea how to market themselves or their concerts. Perfect for business. 

Despite this being relatively easy, being a PR manager was like second nature, she felt exhaustion creeping up on her. The only thing she was really looking forward to was the sandwich Nick promised he would bring soon. While looking at some paperwork , she heard a knock at the door. Thinking it was Nick arriving weirdly early, she calmly said, “Come in!” 

She didn’t bother looking up from her paperwork to see who entered the room, “Ugh, Nick, I’m exhausted. You better have my sandwich cause I’m starving! I’m like two seconds from going all Hulk.” 

“Uh, really sorry that I don’t have a sandwich on me. Don’t Hulk out on me.” 

Flynn’s head whipped up at the familiar voice, shock filling her body, “Julie?” 

Julie awkwardly smiled and put her hands out, “Yup, that’s me. Hi.” 

Flynn felt as if God was playing with her. She had barely gotten sleep last night because of Julie and then she shows up in her office the next day? It almost made her mad. Julie, who she hasn’t seen in what was about to be a year and a half, just showed up at her office like it was her business. Even before they stopped seeing each other all together, it was only the occasional catch up. This had to be some kind of godly joke that Flynn didn’t understand the punchline to. Maybe, it wasn’t even real and she was still dreaming. 

Julie, however, looked all too real. Her hair was shorter then she remembered, and she had noticeable bags under her eyes but she was real. She was real and standing only a few feet away from Flynn. 

After realizing that she was staring, Flynn awkwardly cleared her throat, “What...what are you doing here?” 

There were a few seconds of silence before Julie responded, “I didn’t...I didn’t know where else to go, Flynn.” 

Flynn felt her anger dissipate as she took in Julie’s more disheveled appearance, “What? Are you okay?” 

“Um,” Julie shook her head and took a deep breath, “I’m really sorry for just coming to your office like this but I...the guys. They crossed over, Flynn. I don’t know what to do. I didn’t know who else to go to.” 

Julie didn’t cry, no, but she looked broken. Flynn recognized this Julie. The same look in her eyes as the fifteen year old who had just lost her mother. The same kind of lost expression. It made Flynn’s stomach drop. 

“Oh god, Julie,” she stood up from her desk and walked over to her, “Can I hug you?” 

Julie looked at her, a little surprised, before nodding yes. Flynn pulled her into a tight hug and Julie sank into it. The touch was familiar like a warm blanket on a cold day. There was a kind of nostalgia that came with being in Flynn’s arms. Suddenly, she was sixteen again, unable to perform in front of her high school music class. Julie’s eyes welled with tears as Flynn pulled away. 

“Come on, come on,” Flynn whispered as she gently pulled Julie towards a place to sit. Once Julie was settled, wiping the tears from her eyes, Flynn pulled a chair near her. 

“When did this happen?” Flynn asked, softly, breaking the silence. 

“Um, two weeks ago, maybe, time has kind of been blurry,” Julie said, picking at a loose string on her sweater. 

“Okay,” Flynn breathed out, looking at Julie with concern. She almost wanted to grab her hand, give her some comfort or safety through her fingertips, but decided against it, “What…what was their unfinished business?” 

“I don’t really know. I think it was the culmination of things rather than one thing. One day, they just told me that they knew it was their time. It was instinctual to them, like a gut feeling. They just _knew_. When they told me they all seemed so at peace, too. I mean, of course they were sad about it but they were so...tranquil. They had accepted it but I just _couldn’t_. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I thought I would be ready when the time came but I wasn't,” Julie didn’t really look at Flynn as she spoke. She stared at the painting on the wall. Whatever she would find in Flynn’s eyes seemed like too much for her to handle right now. 

“I’m so sorry, Julie.” 

“Don’t be. I knew it had to happen someday even if it hurts. Even if I didn’t want it to. It’s...it’s the balance of things. I’m just glad I got to say goodbye before they had to go,” Julie took a deep breath, wiping the tears off her face with her sleeve.

Flynn silently nodded, grabbed a tissue and offered it to Julie. Julie finally looked Flynn in the eyes as she took the tissue, “Thanks...I’m sorry for dumping this all on you like this.” 

Flynn shook her head before grabbing the other girl's hand without much thought, “No, no, never apologize. When have I ever made you apologize for coming to me with something like this?” 

“Never,” Julie said, looking at their intertwined hands. 

Flynn let go of Julie’s hand, suddenly self conscious, before she asked. “Why did you come to me specifically?” 

“Well, you’re one of the only people that even knew about the guys being ghosts but, um, there is another thing,” Julie sighed before continuing, “My manager really didn’t like it when I suddenly decided to have a solo career without the holograms and, well, when I couldn’t give her a good reason as to why...she dropped me.” 

“She _what?_ How could she do that?” Flynn looked at her in disbelief. 

“She said that the holograms were the selling point of my career and that without them I wasn’t worth marketing,” Julie tried not to let her bitterness shine through, but the memory still made her angry. 

“But you’re like a big ball of amazing talent even without the guys. How could she not see that?” 

Julie shrugged, smiling a little from the compliment, “See, that’s why I came to you. I knew that there was one person who would want to be the manager of Julie without the phantoms and that’s you, Flynn.” 

“Are you…?” 

“Yes, I am. Will you be my new manager, Flynn?” 

Flynn looked at the women before her. Evident bags under her eyes, fraying sweater and tear stained cheeks. She knew her answer, right then and there, with little doubt. 

She smiled brightly, “I’m in.” 

“You’re in?” Julie wasn’t expecting her to actually say yes. So much time had passed, she thought that it was too late for second chances, but the smile on Flynn’s lips said otherwise. She smiled a little too. The light radiating off Flynn was contagious. 

“I’m in,” Flynn looked at the other women with a kind of confidence, “We have lots of work to do, Julie Molina.” 

And somehow, sitting there looking at Flynn, who had still had belief in her even after they had drifted, Julie felt like she was at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on posting new chapters every two days or so! Keep an eye out for those if you enjoyed it so far. 
> 
> Interact with me on Tumblr @threeghosts-nobraincells! I would love to hear any thoughts of my fanfiction.


	3. Butterfly Clips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more sweet and less angsty then last chapter! I really like the idea of Julie and Flynn doing fashion shows in their room when they were younger, so I wanted to write a scene that was kind of indictive of that. Fashion is a big part of their friendship, so I thought it was nice to mix it in for this chapter. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always, always appreciated.

About a week after Julie had walked into Flynn’s office, they managed to secure a meeting with the record label Julie was signed under to talk about ideas for her solo career. The new looks, sound and how they would market it. Flynn knocked on the door of Julie’s decently sized house, smaller than she expected if she was being honest, and waited for a response. There was silence and then what she thought were the sounds of Julie scrambling, perhaps swearing a bit, before the door opened wide. 

Julie smiled wide before saying, “Hi, Flynn! So good to see you.”

Flynn took in Julie’s loose t-shirt, sweatpants and frazzled hair that looked like it used to be in a bun. Nothing that anyone would wear to a business meeting. Especially not an important one with Julie’s record label that they couldn’t miss. Thank God Flynn came early like planned. 

“Julie Molina, did you forget that we have a meeting in,” she looks at the nonexistent watch on her wrist, “An hour?” 

Pulling the phone out her pocket to check the time, Julie tried to explain, “Sorry, I was trying to work on a new song and I got caught up. This is totally my fault, I should ha-” 

Flynn smiled despite herself, cutting Julie off by walking into the house while asking, “New song?” 

“It’s not much now but it’s more than I’ve gotten in the past month.” 

“I want to hear some of it later but, right now, we have a fashion emergency on our hands! We have a huge meeting and you’re wearing sweatpants, Jules.”

Julie looked down at her pants and winced, “Not exactly professional, huh.” 

Flynn clicked her tongue, “Nope, not at all. Where is your room?” 

“Uh, down that hall and to the left. Why?” 

Instead of answering, Flynn grabbed Julie’s wrist and pulled her towards the room. Julie wasn’t really given the time to protest as Flynn was a woman on a mission. 

“Onwards to the closet!” Flynn declared as she entered the room, heading towards Julie’s large closet. 

Julie sat on her bed as she watched Flynn go through her closet. There was a certain nostalgia to it. It reminded her of all the silly fashion shows Flynn and her would put on for themselves or when they would regularly share wardrobes in high school. She smiled to herself at the thought. 

“No, no, definitely not, wait, yes! This could definitely work,” Flynn pulled out a purple suit that looked like it hadn’t seen the light of day.

“Oh, I haven’t worn that in…” 

“Forever, I can tell, but it’s perfect. Pair it with,” she turned to pull a turtle neck out of the closet, “this and you’ll look like you mean business. Plus, you’ll match me and what’s more badass then two women in matching suits?” 

Only then did Julie really start to take in the businesswoman look Flynn was wearing. A light pink suit that looked tailor fitted, golden heels and manicured hands. She looked good. Julie felt amazed just looking at her. She wondered why Flynn even said yes to being her manager when she seemed to have everything going for her. She didn’t need a grieving Julie in her life, yet she still took her in with open arms. It was...beautiful in a way. She wasn’t sure where the thought came from, but Flynn looked _beautiful._ She always was but something about her was...different now. 

Julie shook herself from her thoughts, pushing her feelings down, “You’re right, nothing is more badass than that.” 

Flynn placed the suit on Julie’s lap, “Go get changed! Go!” 

“Okay, okay, I’m going!” Julie laughed a little at Flynn’s insistence. 

After Julie changed and stepped out of the bathroom, Flynn smiled at her before motioning her to come sit on the bed with her. 

When Julie sat next to her, Flynn shook her head, “No, sit in front of me. I’m doing your hair.”

When Julie moved in front of the other woman, Flynn gently undid her messy bun and smoothed the stray strands of hair down with her hands. She took the top part of her hair and started to make a neater half bun. Her movements were slow, considerate and something about them made Julie hold her breath. 

Flynn clicked her tongue, “It’s almost perfect but it’s missing something....oh! I know.” 

She stood and started to pull open the drawers of Julie’s jewelry box, “You still have them. Just like I thought.” 

Flynn walked back over to Julie, a pink butterfly clip in hand, and placed it in the bun that she had just carefully made, “There. You look perfect.” 

Julie stared at Flynn, feeling like her breath had been stolen. Flynn cleared her throat and turned away from the other woman's gaze, “We’re all set so let’s head out. Don’t, uh, want to miss this meeting.” 

Julie blinked, pulling out of her daze, “Uh, yea, of course. Let’s go!” 

On the car ride to the meeting, Julie began to explain away the butterflies in her stomach by telling herself that kindness from anyone has been few and far between for her lately. She told herself that she was just latching onto the first kind person she could and that Flynn happened to be that person. It was nothing to be concerned about. 

Flynn, on the other hand, knew these feelings all too well, and she hated that they were resurfacing so easily. It was like loving Julie was inevitable for her. No matter how hard she tried to stop it, she was always going to be hopelessly and irrevocably in love with Julie Molina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to give me any of your thoughts on my fanfic leave a comment or check out my tumblr (threeghosts-nobraincells)! Thank you for being lovely.


	4. Perfect Harmony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading up to this point! You are wonderful and amazing for being here. The song lyrics used here are from Perfect Harmony. 
> 
> Anyways, comments and kudos make my day so go ahead and leave some if you're feeling up to it!

Flynn watched as Julie plucked fruitlessly at the piano keys. They had been working tirelessly the entire day to come up with a demo to give to the record label. The meeting with the label had gone surprisingly well despite their unhappiness with Julie’s sudden choice. They, however, did give them an ultimatum: get them a demo in two weeks to show them if the new sound is worth producing. So, there they were in Julie’s living room, trying and trying to come up with something before it was too late. 

Julie put her head on her hands, resting her elbows on the piano keys causing a dissonant noise to erupt from the piano, “Maybe I should just give up on music and become a sheep farmer. Would you become a sheep farmer with me, Flynn? Please say yes.” 

“Well, I would say yes if I knew that wasn’t a huge waste of your massive amount of talent,” Flynn replied while she looked through Julie’s old song books to see if there was anything producible. 

“I don’t feel very talented right now.” 

“Don’t say that or I’ll ruin your credit score,” Flynn skimmed through some more barely written songs. 

Julie looked up from the piano to Flynn, “My credit score?” 

“Mhm, so don’t test me,” Flynn turned the page and saw what seemed to be a fully written song, much to her delight, “...perfect harmony?” 

“Oh,” Julie shot up from her seat, “That’s embarrassing, don’t look at that, I forgot that was in there.” 

Flynn held the notebook close to her chest so that Julie couldn't snatch it away, “No, no, it’s actually really good _and_ it’s fully written. Change up some lyrics and, boom, a great solo demo.” 

“It’s just, I don’t...” Julie sank into herself, sighing. 

“Who did you write it for?” Flynn asked, quietly. 

Julie didn’t look her in the eyes, “Luke...when I was sixteen.” 

“Oh,” Flynn whispered as she put the notebook down, “We don’t have to do it then...I’ll keep looking, sorry.” 

Julie didn’t respond as she picked up notebook, reading the lyrics. As her eyes went farther down the page, a small bittersweet smile formed on her face. 

“Luke never got to see this song. I thought it was too embarrassing, but I almost wish I had shown him now. He would have loved it despite how cheesy it is,” she silently traced the lyrics in the notebook, “You’re right, Flynn, this should be the demo.” 

“You’re sure?” Flynn asked as Julie went to grab her acoustic guitar. 

“Yea, yea, I am,” Julie sat on the couch next to Flynn with her guitar, “Now, you ready to sing a duet?” 

“What? I thought we were going to rewrite it to be a solo?” 

Julie shrugged, “We are _but_ I need to hear the song in its original format so I can see what needs to be changed.” 

“...I don’t know, Julie, my voice is kind of rust-” 

“Oh, come on, your voice is great, Flynn,” she nudges the other girl with her guitar, “Plus, this is like a mini revamp of Double Trouble.” 

Flynn rolled her eyes but she was smiling, “Okay, fine, but only because it’s you.” 

Julie walked her through the song and how it was supposed to sound before they started. Flynn took what she was assuming was meant to be Luke’s part. When they started the duet, Julie was so into the music that Flynn didn’t feel so embarrassed while singing the obviously romantic lyrics. It didn’t exactly feel romantic until Julie started looking at her towards the end of the song. 

_“I feel your rhythm in my heart,”_ Julie sang as she glanced away from the notebook and towards Flynn. 

_“You are my brightest burning star.”_ Flynn kept staring straight at the notebook, not sure what making eye contact with Julie would do to her.

 _“I never knew a love so real,”_ Julie sang, not really looking at the notebook anymore, and was instead entranced by Flynn.

 _“We're heaven on earth. Melody and words when we're together. We're in perfect harmony,”_ they sang together, their voices melding like they were meant to go together, _“Perfect harmony.”_

Flynn finally looked up from the notebook, only to see Julie looking straight back at her as they sang, _“We say we're friends. We play pretend. You're more to me.” ___

There was an electric pull between them, making Flynn lean towards Julie, _“We create perfect harmony.”_

__

__

__As Julie stopped playing the guitar, Flynn snapped out of her trance and awkwardly leaned back from her friend. The song wasn’t written for her and it never was. Julie didn’t like her like that and never will. She had to get out of there before she did something irreversibly stupid._ _

__“I have to go to the bathroom but great job! Can’t wait to start working on the solo version.” Flynn awkwardly scrambled up from her seat and gave Julie a thumbs up before she sped walked away._ _

__She left behind a confused Julie, who was trying to understand what the hell she was even feeling. Was Flynn about to _kiss_ her? Did Julie lean into the kiss? _No,_ she was just seeing things, Flynn didn’t like her that way. And...if she did want to kiss Flynn, it was probably the romantic nature of the song that making her feel that way. To add to that, she hadn’t dated anyone since Luke, and that had ended when she was eighteen, so she was lonely too. _ _

__Julie plucked at her guitar strings, pushing down whatever confusing feelings she was having in favor of working on the song. Flynn was her friend. Someone who had given her a second chance at friendship. She wasn’t about to ruin that with feelings she wasn’t even sure were there. Plus, she was pretty sure Flynn had _something_ with Nick that she wasn't about to ruin either. When Flynn returned, a hesitancy settled between them that stayed through the night. It made it feel more business interaction. Just two people working together for each other's benefit and nothing more.__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on updating in two days time, so make sure to check back in!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed the pining lesbians thus far! If you have, check out my tumblr: threeghost-nobraincells and give me some feedback <3


	5. Friends? Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter but I wanted to put more Nick and Flynn friendship in this fic! I think they're cute besties, and hopefully you do too :) 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are always appreciated!

Flynn was applying a face mask to Nick's face when she sighed, "Nick, do you ever feel like you should be happy with what you have but you're just not?" 

"Sometimes. Especially when I was in high school," Nick scrunched his eyebrows, "Is this about whatever is going on with you and Julie?" 

"Whaaaat? No," Nick gave her a pointed look and Flynn deflated, "Yes, yes, it's about Julie." 

"Okay, spill.” 

Flynn stopped applying Nick's mask, leaving him with one half of his face covered, as she let out a dramatic sigh, “I don’t know. It’s just...ugh.” 

Nick nodded, picking up a bowl of chips, “Very informative, Flynn.” 

“You wouldn’t get it,” Flynn laid down, groaning into her hands. 

“I’m pretty sure I’m one of the only people with first hand experience,” Flynn looked at him, confused, “Okay, look, just because I’m sort of naive or whatever, doesn’t mean I don’t know what having a crush on Julie Molina looks like.” 

Flynn floundered, “I don’t, why would you... Nick, I don’t have a crush on Julie.” 

Nick shrugged as he popped a chip in his mouth, “Flynn, it’s just that you talk about her the way I used to talk about her to the lacrosse guys back in high school.” 

“I-I do no-” 

Nick spoke in a higher octave, obviously trying to emulate Flynn, “Nick, Julie looked so good today in her purple suit! I’m a fashion genius. Nick, Julie is the most talented person I’ve ever met and I’m so lucky she wanted me to be her manag-”

Flynn shoved Nick but he just started laughing, “Okay, I get it! Cut it out.” 

“But you get my point?” 

Flynn crossed her arms, grumbling, “I don’t sound like that.” 

Nick flicked Flynn’s forehead, “You aren’t getting it, dummy. What I’m saying is that I totally understand how it feels to have a crush on Julie. Though, I think yours is more, uh, serious then mine was.” 

Flynn groaned, once more, “That’s my exact problem. It is more serious. I have to be her manager but I don’t know if I can do that with all these feelings, Nick.” 

“You know, back in high school, before I knew that Luke existed, I thought I got rejected for _you.”_

_“What?”_ Flynn looked at Nick like he’d lost his marbles. 

Nick put his hands up in surrender, “Look, look, it wasn’t _that_ crazy of an assumption. Julie didn’t hang out with many guys but she hung out with you like all the time. You were practically inseparable and, I don’t know, there was this way she looked at you.” 

“...how would she look at me?”

“Like you were her everything.” 

Flynn felt like she’d been punched. She couldn’t have any doubts about the past, not now. There was no way Julie liked her back then. It wasn’t possible and Flynn wasn’t going to give those ideas any room to grow in her head. 

“...that’s really dramatic, Nick.” 

“I’m a romantic at heart, you know this,” Nick said, shrugging. 

“There is no way that she liked me back then. I-I would have known, right?” 

“I don’t know, I mean, you liked her, right?” Flynn nodded, “And Julie never knew about your feelings, so it’s hard to know for sure.” 

Flynn’s eyebrows scrunched together, deep in her thoughts, before she shook her head, “No, no, she didn’t like me then and she doesn’t like me now.” 

“How can you be so sure?” 

Flynn sent a glare the man's way, “I just am, okay? It’s always been that way and that’s not changing.”

“...okay, okay,” Nick said, putting a hand on Flynn’s shoulder in a comforting way, “Sorry.” 

She sighed and deflated under Nick’s touch, “No, I’m sorry, I just...touchy subject, I guess.” 

“I get it, Flynn, no worries. You do know that I’m always here for you, right? About anything?” 

A smile broke the girls frown, “Of course I do.” 

Nick held out his pinky finger with an almost goofy grin on his face, “Friends?” 

Flynn let out a bright laugh as she wrapped her pink finger around his, “Friends, you big nerd.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to come talk to me about my fanfic? Check out my tumblr: threeghosts-nobraincells


	6. Sunsets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that I break up scenes with hearts! This chapter is longer then the rest so have fun! I listened to a lot of Adele writing this so I guess listen to her while reading for the vibes.

Flynn had spent her morning making sure that everything was prepared in the recording studio for when Julie came in to sing Perfect Harmony. She was a little frazzled but, overall, things felt like they were under control. The people there knew what they were doing, they had all the instruments and Julie had just texted her that she was here. 

She looked at Julie as she walked into the studio, immediately noticing the orange beanie sitting atop her hair. 

“Good, you’re here,” Flynn glanced at the hat in an obvious way, “How are you? Feeling ready for recording?”

“Yea, yea, I am,” she adjusted the beanie with a tight smile, “I wanted to honor them today. I’m doing this for them,” 

“That's beautiful, Jules, they would have loved that,” Flynn said, smiling as she noticed that it wasn’t just Luke’s beanie. Reggie’s necklace dangled delicately around Julie’s neck and Alex’s jean jacket was wrapped around her waist. She guessed that the guys had all given her keepsakes. 

Julie looked at her like she contained the stars (maybe Nick wasn’t so wrong), “I’m doing this for you too, you know. I wouldn’t be where I am without you, Flynn.” 

Flynn felt like her breath had been stolen as tears pricked her eyes. She pulled Julie into a tight hug, “I’m so proud of you.” 

“Thank you, Flynn,” Julie held onto her just as tightly. 

They stayed like that before Flynn could feel the other people in the studio looking at them. She pulled away, “Ready to rock this thing?” 

“Oh, hell yea, I am!” 

With that, Julie got into the booth to start recording. Once she was able to actually start recording the vocals, Julie poured her soul into the song. It almost made Flynn speechless, watching her sing with so much passion. Even though Flynn has heard Julie sing more times then she could count, her talent still stole her breath every time.

Seeing her in the recording studio that day was beautiful. Her passion, her talent radiated off her in waves. Flynn thought that Julie was at her most beautiful in that moment. 

\---<3----

After they had gotten through the recording session and talked out their vision with the sound mixer, Julie told Flynn that she wanted to go out and celebrate their first demo together. When Flynn suggested that they get coffee, Julie simply shook her head and said that she had something planned already. 

“A picnic?” 

“Yup! I already have the stuff packed away in my car and a spot picked out,” Julie took Flynn’s hands in hers, “It’s a little bit of a drive but it’s worth it, promise.”

“That sounds...wonderful, Julie. I’ll meet up with you in my car, okay?” Julie nodded and Flynn headed to her car. The second she shut the car door, she covered her face with her hands and let out a tiny scream.

“What the hell?” she whispered to herself, “Is this a date? Oh god, it sounds like a date. No, it's not a date, Flynn, are you going insane? She never said it’s a date, it’s just a celebration! Having a picnic with a view is a totally normal thing to do.” 

She saw Julie start to pull out of her parking space and quickly gathered herself. The drive was a little lengthy but Julie was right about it being worth it. The spot she chose was a rock that rested above the sea. From there Flynn could see the ocean and the beach. She could feel the sea salt air and sun on her skin. The sky above them was bright blue with puffy clouds and a gleaming sun. It was...everything that Flynn could have dreamed up in some sort of romantic fantasy. 

“Do you come here often?” Flynn asked as Julie sat down on the soft blue blanket she brought.

“Not as much as I used to,” Julie responded as she gestured for Flynn to join her, “It’s still as beautiful as I remember.”

“Yea, it really is beautiful,” Flynn wasn’t looking at the view but at Julie. She was glowing with the sunlight, eyes closed with a smile gracing her lips beautifully, and it filled Flynn’s stomach with flutters. 

Flynn nervously adjusted her bracelets before looking down and away from Julie. She started to unpack the food as Julie laid down, her eyes closed and skin taking in the sun.

They stayed like this, in comfortable silence, until Flynn gently asked, "How did you feel about the song recording?" 

"Really good, I mean I felt the emotion of the song take me over. It was like I was sixteen again, you know?”

“I saw the emotion...it was amazing, Julie,” Flynn paused for a few seconds before quietly adding, “You never fail to amaze me.”

Julie sat up to look at her with soft eyes, “Hey, you sap, you can’t just compliment me all the time like that. You’ll make my ego too high." 

"Hm, I don’t think that’s possible. I mean, after becoming a literal rockstar, you’re still the same Julie I knew." 

Julie looked down at her sneakers and away from Flynn, “The old Julie wouldn’t have left you behind like I did.” 

“You didn’t le-” 

“No, I did, Flynn,” she looked up at Flynn with intense eyes, “and everyday I’m amazed you took me with open arms the way you did. I didn’t deserve it.”

“Look,” Flynn gently took one of Julie’s hands in hers, “You didn’t leave me behind, we just...got older. It happens. Sure, it hurt like crazy sometimes and I missed you so bad that I thought I would lose my mind, but we’re here now. We’ll always come back to each other even through rough patches. Crazy glue of best friends, forever and always.”

“Always and forever,” Julie squeezed Flynn’s hand while letting out a small chuckle, “Hope you like being stuck with me.”

“No one else I would want to be stuck to.” 

On that cliff, they talked like they would have when they were younger. That night, nothing mattered to them except how the other’s face crinkled when they laughed or how their hands seemed to always find each other. Time passed them by as they caught up on things they didn’t have the time to talk about earlier. The new friends, experiences and love that they had missed. 

“Wait, you have an ex?! This is new information to me.” Julie loudly questioned after Flynn had made a casual comment about an ex named James. 

“Oh my god, not for long. It was barely anything. We lasted for, like, a month. He was a nice guy just, uh, didn’t click for me, I guess.” 

“Well,” Julie shrugs, “Not like it matters now. You have Nick now.” 

Flynn almost choked on the water she was drinking, “I have what now?”

“Nick?” Julie said, confused. 

“We...what? No, no, we are not dating, Julie, what the hell?” 

“You aren’t?” 

“No? What made you think that?” 

“I just...I don’t know. He brings you lunch, you guys watch the bachelorette together every Tuesday and you talk on the phone with him alot. I just assumed that you guys had something going on, I guess.” 

Flynn scrunched her nose at the thought, “No, he’s like a brother to me. Even back in high school, I don’t think I could have dated him. He’s too much of a dork.”

“And you’re not?” Julie asked with a teasing smile. 

“Oh,” Flynn shoved Julie playfully, “Shut up, disappointment.”

“Okay, okay, underachiever,” Julie shrugged as she tried to process the fact that Flynn was in fact not dating Nick, “I mean, I haven’t talked to Nick in way too long. How is he?” 

“Good! His lacrosse team is doing pretty good at their games so he’s happy about that. Oh, oh, and I think he has a thing for this english teacher he keeps talking about,” Flynn said with a bright tone. 

“Really?” Julie asked, smiling a little. So, that definitely meant that Flynn didn’t like Nick that way. There wasn’t a hint of jealousy in her eyes when she said that. Julie wasn’t sure why she felt...relieved by the fact that they weren’t dating. Nick was a sweetheart by every recollection, but something about the relationship never sat right with her.

“Yea! He’s always swooning about how they’re so smart and talented. He’s going to go see the play they’re directing because his crush invited him. Exciting, right?” 

“Right,” Julie smiled a little, “You know, Nick deserves it. After everything that happened in highschool, I can imagine how hard it is to put yourself out there.”

“I basically had to force him to say yes to going to the play, so, yea, a little bit.” 

“Let’s just hope this english teacher isn’t putting on a ghost play.” 

“Pshh, totally not,” Flynn made a contemplative face, ”...that’s not a thing, right?” 

Julie laughed loudly, “Not to my knowledge but I didn’t think ghost bands existed either before I was in one. Though, I think the guys were a special case.” 

“Yea, I don’t think meeting a bunch of cute ghosts is an everyday thing.” 

“I’m just a special case, I guess. God knows why though,” Julie looked to the sky and realized that time passed much quicker than she thought. The sky was changing colors as the sun slowly went down.

“I think that whatever higher power is in charge knew that you just needed a little nudge into greatness. The guys were just the thing to get you there,” Flynn suggested softly as she took in the swirling sunset. 

With that, they sat in silence as they looked out into the view. A solemn feeling settled over them, even though neither of them really knew why. It wasn't uncomfortable, no, it was more peaceful like a sad nostalgia. Julie broke the silence with a barely there whisper. 

“He was my first love, you know,” Flynn looked at Julie, who gazed at the sky as it slowly turned shades of purple and pink with a delicate smile, “Luke. He was just so...passionate about everything and you couldn’t help but feel an enthusiasm for life when he was around. I mean, even after we broke up because he was eternally seventeen, we were still soulmates. I...I miss him. I miss them.” 

Flynn put a gentle hand on Julie’s shoulder, hoping that the simple touch was comforting, “I think that it’s wonderful that they were in your life, Jules.” 

Julie looked at her, a kind of beautiful sadness in her eyes, “That’s why I have to keep making music. They were in my life because of music. It’s what they would have wanted for me and...I think they would be happy that I’m doing all this with you.” 

Flynn remembered what Julie had said after she played the piano for the first time in a year, “You're the one keeping their memory alive.” 

"And I couldn't do it without you. You're the one who got me into the studio today." 

Flynn smiled before letting a small laugh, "I am great, aren't I?" 

Julie laughed, poking Flynns cheek, "You really are." 

At that moment, Flynn almost wished that she could stay there forever. A sun set, the conversation that reminded her of when they were younger and a breathtaking Julie. It was almost perfect but...the scene was slightly off hue. 

She knew why. Julie didn't love her the way she loved her. She couldn’t love her the way Flynn loved her. Flynn knew it wasn't fair to Julie to keep up this charade, to keep pretending that she could do this everyday. She was falling more and more in love with her best friend, and it hurt every single day to bury her feelings deep.

They sat there in a comfortable silence, Julie looking at the skyline and Flynn deep in her head. It was basically dark out at this point, the sun disappearing underneath the skyline. The appearing stars made Flynn think of all the nights that she went home alone. She would go home alone again tonight. Something about that thought told her to take the leap. 

"I need to get something off my chest," Flynn quickly said before she could convince herself not to. 

"Yea? What's up?" Julie asked, looking at her curiously. 

Flynn nervously played with her bracelets before looking Julie in the eyes, "I love you." 

Julie smiled, nudging Flynns shoulder, "I love you too." 

There was a few seconds of silence before Flynn shook her head, "No, you don't get it. I love you. Like more than a friend, Julie." 

"Oh." 

There was a heavy silence. Flynn couldn't take the silence or Julie's shocked expression even if it’s what she expected. She knew that Julie didn't love her back. Not the way she wanted.

"I don't think I can be your manager anymore," Flynn said, starting to get up from her seat. There were plenty of stars to see later in her life. Plenty more that would be less painful. 

"Wait, what?" 

"I can't be your manager and still be professional. Look, I know myself and it wouldn't be fair to you, okay? I'll give you a recommendation for someone else. Someone better. I just…I need to go." 

“Flynn, wait,” Julie got up quickly, following Flynn who was walking quickly to her car, "You should still be my manager. I-I want you to be my manager even if y-" 

Flynn opened her car door before she whipped around to face Julie, tears in her eyes, “Please stop, Julie, just stop. I-I should be happy. I should be content just having you back in my life but I'm not. I should have left whatever feelings I had for you in the past and, yet, I live in my memories of you. When I close my eyes, I see only you and, God, does it hurt knowing it’s not the same for you, Julie. I love you. I’ve loved you for so long, but I’m not willing to let myself get hurt anymore.” 

Julie just stared at her, unable to come up with anything to say as Flynn took the two bracelets off her wrist, “Here you can have these. I don’t need them anymore.” 

“Wait, Flynn, please, don’t go, I-,” Julie said, desperately, as Flynn pressed the bracelets into her hand. 

“If you have nothing to say then I have nothing to stay for,” Flynn turned, tears in her eyes, and got into her car.

Julie watched as she drove away, feeling something inside her break, as she started crying. Something told her that she just lost something great that he could never get back. She stared at the bracelets in her hand before she finally held them close to her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ending hurt me to write but it'll get better, promise! The tags do not lie, friends. 
> 
> If you want to talk fanfic with me or see more of my content, check out my tumblr: threeghosts-nobraincells.


	7. Nighttime Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the Julie and Carrie friendship that I promise!! Characterizing Carrie was kind of difficult for me because I don't usually write her (same with Nick). Hope you enjoy, lovelies. 
> 
> Any who, here is your reminder that comments and kudos are always lovely to see!! Thanks for reading this far.

When Carrie heard the doorbell ringing at ten at night, she grumbled and looked through the security camera to see if it was anybody worth yelling at. When she saw a crying Julie standing at the door, she scrambled to open the door. 

Her and Julie managed to stay pretty good friends after high school because of the mutual musical fame. They even did a song collaboration that let them perform together which was really, really wonderful. However, Julie usually didn’t come to her for emotional problems (Carrie wasn’t the best with feelings), so this was _highly_ worrying. 

“Julie! You’re crying!” Carrie commented with wide eyes. She had never really been good at comforting people and nothing was scarier than a girl crying. 

“I’m sorry,” Julie sniffed and wiped at her eyes, “It’s late, I shouldn’t have come. I can leave, sorry.” 

“No! No, come in, stupid,” Carrie motioned for her to come into the house, “How did you get through the security gate? You didn’t text me to let you in.” 

“I climbed it because I didn’t want to bother you. I need a band aid,” Julie held up her hands that had tiny cuts on them, “Forgot about the barbed wire.”

“You were coming to my house, why would you worry about...whatever. Just text me next time, dumbass. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up,” Carrie pulled Julie to the bathroom where she handed the girl a tissue box before looking for disinfectant and band aids. 

Once she successfully located those things, she joined Julie on her spot on the bathroom floor. 

“Give me your hand so I can clean it,” Julie complied, still sniffling, “You want to talk about what happened, babe?” 

“I-I messed up, Carrie, I don’t know what to do,” Julie winced as Carrie ran the disinfectant over the cut on her hand.

“Sorry,” Carrie opened a band aid and placed it on the cut, “There, all better. Now, uh, how did you mess up?...nope, let me rephrase that, what happened that made you think you messed up?” 

“I was with Flynn and she...she told me that she loved me,” Julie shoved her hands into her pockets, holding the bracelets that she put there. 

“...is that a bad thing?” Carrie asked, hesitantly. 

“No? Yes? No? I don’t know. I didn’t know what to say to her and...and she left after telling me she didn’t want to be my manager anymore. I’m such an idiot for letting her drive away. She won’t answer any of my calls or texts.”

“Julie, this might be blunt but do you...like her back or?” 

Julie stayed silent, thinking of every butterfly in her stomach when Flynn held her hand or the intoxicating way her eyes sparkled when she got excited, before whispering, “I’m not sure.” 

“You’re not sure?” Carrie asked, trying to not sound harsh.

“I-I don’t, I mean,” she made some vague gestures with her hands, “Flynn is...beautiful and talented and funny and the most considerate person I’ve ever me-”

Carrie placed a firm hand on Julie’s shoulder, “I need you to listen to yourself for a second.”

“...oh my god, I’m the biggest idiot in the universe,” Julie groaned and put her face in her hands. 

“Maybe a little.” Carrie put her arm around Julie’s shoulder and hugged her. 

“I’m in love with Flynn. Oh god, Carrie, what do I do? I’m in love with her and I practically let her drive straight out of my life!” 

“Well, you have to tell her you love her somehow. She loves you and you love her. You just have to show her.”

“I can’t just walk up to her and say ‘hey I actually do love you, so sorry I stood there and let you drive away thinking the opposite! be my girlfriend’!” 

Carrie shook her head before starting to get up from the floor, “Okay, come on, you and I can make a master plan to get Flynn back in the morning. I’ve already missed the start time of my nightly beauty routine and this face is hard to maintain. Plus, you’re not going to be able to think straight unless you get some sleep.” 

“But...bu-“ Julie began protesting before Carrie cut her off. 

“No buts, only sleep. We can come up with some grand romantic scheme in the morning, Julie,” Carrie offered her hand to Julie to help her get up, “I give you my Wilson promise that I’ll help you out in the morning.”

“Wow, a Wilson promise? What did I do to deserve that?” Julie asked, letting Carrie help her up. 

Carrie rolled her eyes, “You’re my friend, Molina.” 

This managed to get a small smile from Julie, “Sure am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like to see more of my stuff, go check out my tumblr: threeghosts-nobraincells


	8. New Alliances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang (almost) is all here! This was a very fun chapter to write since I was figuring out dynamics and all that good stuff. Anyways, comments and kudos are always wonderful! I appreciate everyone sticking with this fic :)

Julie wasn’t sure if she regretted recruiting Carrie’s help for trying to get Flynn back. In the morning, Carrie decided on a master plan that she refused to take any criticisms on. Julie tried to protest, but she knew it was past the point of return once Carrie started making a power point for her plan. 

The plan went as so: recruit Nick’s help so that it’s easier to get Flynn to wherever the romantic confession was happening, gather intel on what the girl would want in a romantic confession and, finally, set up the confession. 

“How are you even going to get Nick here?” Julie questioned, trying to peek at Carrie’s phone that her friend has been furiously typing on. 

“I found his number on the school’s website so I’m going to be texting him to come over now.”

“Wait, _now?”_

“Yes, now, love doesn’t wait for anyone, so he’s coming over right now whether he wants to or not.” 

“...are you implying that we kidnap Nick?” 

Carrie shrugged, “If it comes down to it.” 

“Carrie, _no.”_

“I’m not being serious,” she faked a laugh before adding under her breath, “...as far as you know.” 

“What was that?” 

“I said that you should know that I’m sending him the text, ” Carrie pressed the send button on her phone, “Now.”  
Receiving a text that read: ‘URGENT: This is Carrie (you remember) and I need your help with something ASAP!!! Come to my dad’s house right now or I’ll track you down. I’m not joking, Nick <3’ was the last thing Nick expected to happen on a Saturday morning.

He hadn’t spoken to Carrie in forever so he was pretty sure this was someone attempting to kidnap him. Though, the wording was very Carrie like so he decided to give it some benefit of the doubt by responding. 

He quickly wrote back, ‘How do I know that this is actually Carrie??’ 

A few minutes passed before he received a voice message that was definitely Carrie, “Who the fuck else would it be, Nick? Come to my house right now! Urgent means urgent.” 

He almost texted back that he was busy, but that was one hundred percent a lie, and he knew that Carrie truly wasn’t joking about tracking him down. Still he sent back, ‘It is nine am, Carrie.’

‘So? It’s not a school day and like I said this is URGENT.’ 

He rubbed his face while his phone pinged again, ‘This is about Flynn and Julie!’ 

That gave him second thoughts about not going. It wasn’t crazy to assume that Julie and Carrie were close friends still. They had even released a collaboration that Nick secretly listened to almost everyday on his way to work. So, it was safe to assume that Carrie knew about the whole falling out those two had, but he didn’t know what she wanted with him of all people.

‘Fine. Be over soon,’ he quickly wrote back. Before he could scold himself for being a dumbass walking straight into a hostage situation, Nick found himself driving to Carrie’s mansion. 

When he found himself standing there, waiting for Carrie to open the door, he contemplated going back to his car. He seriously felt like way too much high school was leaking back into his life for it to be healthy. 

Before he could turn around, Carrie opened the door before walking away, “Nick, you finally made it. I’ve been waiting forever.” 

“Carrie! Glad to see you're still...you,” Nick said as he walked in, closed the door and followed Carrie who was quickly making her way to the living room. 

“Despite your lack of understanding of the word _urgent_ , I am glad to see you. We have lots to discuss,” she picked up a remote from the coffee table.

Nick had expected a lot of things but he hadn’t anticipated seeing Julie sitting on the couch. He looked at her, confusion written on his face, as she gave him an awkward little wave. 

“Hey, Nick, uh, long time, no see!” Julie said, trying to break the silence in the room.

“Um, Julie, not that it isn’t great to see you but what is going on? Why exactly am I here?” 

“Sit down and watch my presentation. It will explain why I’ve invited you here,” Carrie hit a button on the remote and Nick watched the giant flat screen transition to a pink slide with the words, ‘THE PROBLEM’, sprawled across it. 

“What is happening right now?” He looked to Julie, who gave him an equally clueless look and a shrug. 

“The problem, Nick,” she revealed a new slide that had both Julie and Flynn on it with broken hearts around it, “Is that right now we are here. Both of our best friends are in what I named the broken hearted pining zone.” 

The words ‘BROKEN HEARTED PINING ZONE’ flew onto the screen, and Nick seriously wondered if he was hallucinating. He, again, looked at Julie, who now was fully hiding her face with her hands in embarrassment. 

“Where we want to be is in the ‘happy no more sadness girlfriends zone,’” Carrie moved to the next slide that was just a stock photo of two women holding hands in the sunset. 

“So, that's why you and I should make an alliance for the time being,” the next slide was a photo of them from high school with ‘SOLIDARITY’ written underneath it, “We need to help Julie and Flynn reach the girlfriend zone.”

Nick looked at Carrie with disbelief, “Did you make this whole presentation just to tell me that you want my help setting up our best friends?” 

“Carrie, oh my god,” Julie mumbled into her hands.

“Yes, yes, I did. Now, are you going to help us?” 

“I don’t know...Flynn was really hurt last night. How am I supposed to know you're not just going to hurt her again, Julie? I mean, do you even love her?” Nick replied hesitantly while crossing his arms. 

Julie uncovered her face to look at the man, “Nick, please believe me when I saw that I was a total idiot for letting Flynn run off when she told me about her feelings. I hurt her and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive myself for that. I...love her so much and I wish I had realized it sooner. Please, Nick.” 

Nick searched Julie’s face for any hint of insincerity, but found now. He stayed silent for a few seconds as he contemplated it. Julie seemed to be telling the truth about her feelings, and, sure, he hadn’t spoken to the girl in a while, but the Julie he knew never purposely hurt others. Plus, all Flynn seemed to want last night was to be loved...and here was Julie willing to do just that. He truly never wanted to see Flynn cry like that again. So, he made his decision. 

“...fine. I’ll help you,” Nick finally said. 

Julie breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you, thank you, Nick. You don’t know how much this means to me.” 

“But! You have to promise you’ll never hurt Flynn.” 

Julie smiled softly, “I promise.” 

“Okay!” Carrie interjected, “Can I move onto the plan part of my slide?” 

“...sure,” Nick replied, slightly in fear of what Carrie’s plan exactly was. 

“So glad you asked,” Carrie said with a saleswomen tone that truly made Nick regret any choices that lead him here. 

Carrie’s plan was laid out on a hot pink slide, “I was thinking that we have Julie do an elaborate musical performance where she publicly declares her love for Flynn. It will have a chocolate fountain, strawberries for dipping and a fireworks show to top it off.” 

Once she finished, she turned to see the others approval but instead was met with a pointed silence. Carrie frowned at this, putting her hands on her hips, “Why are you two making that face? Is my plan of an elaborate and expensive firework love declaration not good enough for you?” 

“I cannot believe I dated you,” Nick commented, still not entirely sure this wasn’t some kind of elaborate dream. 

“I’m a lesbian so, yea, I can’t believe it either,” Carrie retorted, crossing her arms. 

“...okay, I didn’t know that but, uh, that’s great!” 

Carrie rolled her eyes, “Thanks but mind telling me why you two don’t like my plan?” 

“It’s just,” Julie made a motion to the screen, “too much. It’s more romantic to do something private and small, right?” 

“I agree. Maybe you should sing a song to her? You could even write a song, I mean, what’s more romantic than that?” 

Carrie huffed, but relented, “Hm, I guess so. It is more your style to do a serenade.”

“Write a song? I don’t know...I haven’t really been able to get anything on paper other than basic instrumentals.” 

“Okay, we can work with that,” Nick said with a smile, “We take one of your instrumental ideas and we’ll help you write the lyrics. Right, Carrie?”

“Right! We can use my piano.” 

Nick looked at her, eyebrows furrowing, “Since when did you play the piano?” 

Carrie shrugged, “I don’t but the urge to buy a pink piano was too strong to ignore.” 

The piano in Carrie’s house was indeed a light pink which didn’t surprise either Julie or Nick. Julie sat down at the piano, trying to remember her own songs, as Carrie went to go get them notebooks. 

Julie looked down at the keys, unable to remember anything she’s composed, before she said, “I don’t know if I can do this. I haven’t written something new in a month.”

Nick looked at Julie with concern, “Hey, you have both Carrie and me to help out. Plus, you're _Julie Molina._ You’re practically _made_ of music.” 

“You’re still a sweetheart, you know that?” 

He smiled at that, “And you’re still a rockstar.” 

Carrie walked in with notebooks and pens, “You guys need to stop being saps so that we can actually start working on this song.” 

“Actually, I think we need to be saps to write a love song,” Nick replied, taking a notebook.

“Whatever,” Carrie rolled her eyes and threw a pen at Nick’s head. 

Smiling, Julie took in a deep breathe before hesitantly pressing on the pianos keys. It was mostly just experimental as Carrie and Nick made a few comments. They sat there until something just clicked for her. She had to get this done. For Flynn. The thought of getting back the one person who supported her through the worst moments of her life...it made the music flow back into her fingertips. The ideas from the night she brainstormed with Flynn over a demo flooded back to her.

She pressed the keys letting the notes flow from her. The emotion took her over as she hummed with the experimental song. 

She closed her eyes. _Manicured hands styling her hair carefully. A bright smile with light in her eyes. The tears in those bright eyes because of her. The bracelets in her pocket._ _‘I’ve loved you for so long.’_

“Molina, that was amazing!” Nick’s voice cut through her thoughts and made her open her eyes. 

“Write it down before you forget!” Carrie said, not so gently throwing a notebook at Julie, hitting her in the chest. Still, she was out of her stupor enough to write down what she just played. After figuring out and working out some of the basics of the song, they moved onto the lyrics. 

“Okay, key words! What makes you think of Flynn, Julie? Use objects or actions instead of adjectives.” Nick asked, looking up from his notebook. 

“Uhh, hugs. Definitely hugs and...her eyes are like the stars,” Julie paused, deep in thought, “And she’s like...a light in a storm. Warmth in the cold.” 

“Corny but we can make it work,” Carrie said, before they fell into their writing.. Julie kept perfecting the backing, while occasionally writing down lyrics. They bounce ideas off each other, occasionally Nick or Carrie singing while Julie played. 

“How does this sound, ‘I could hold you for a million years, to make you feel my love’?” Carrie sang softly.

Julie crossed her arms and smiled, “Who knew you could be so romantic, Carrie, those lyrics are good!” 

“It’s not romance, it’s talent,” the girl protested. 

“Ehh,” Nick squinted his eyes at Carrie, “I think that somewhere deep in your icy heart, you’re secretly a hopeless romantic. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be helping out Julie.” 

She threw a glare at the man, “ _Whatever._ I’m helping Julie because she’s a friend.”

Julie quickly mumbled, covering her laugh, “And because you’re secretly a big sap.”

“What did you just say?” Carrie hissed, turning her glare towards Julie. 

“Nothing, nothing. Right, Nick, I didn’t say anything?” the man nodded, grin apparent, “Are we going to continue writing this song or not?” 

Nick threw his head back, laughing, as Carrie huffed in annoyance. She wasn’t _soft._ At least, not usually. This was one of the only times that it was permitted for her to be soft, but either way, she wasn’t a hopeless romantic. She just enjoyed the occasional Princess Diaries rewatch and matchmaking venture. 

_“Whatever,”_ Carrie said, flipping her hair before she started to furiously scribble down lyrics. 

Julie looked at her friends, wondering how they could so easily fall back into the friendships they had back in the day. Nick and Carrie hadn’t even been the bestest of friends and, yet, here they were brought together by her romantic woes. She just wished Flynn was here, but she guessed that was what the song was for. 

The trio from then on on made a kind of routine for the next two days. Julie and Nick came over to Carrie’s and worked on making sure this love song was absolutely perfect for Flynn. Nick would give Julie updates on how Flynn was doing while encouraging her to just talk to the other girl. Julie would always shake her head and say that she didn’t know how to get the words out to which the man would reluctantly accept. 

They had basically gotten the song to sound perfect over those days but Julie still couldn’t help but feel like something needed to be changed. She was constantly rewriting, playing and perfecting to the point where Carrie would slap her hands away from the piano keys. 

“It sounds great, babe! Change it anymore and it’ll be a completely different song.”  
“Maybe it needs to be a different song. I mean, what if she hates it?” 

“She’s not going to hate it, Julie, you’re getting into your own head. You’ll have a great song and the perfect setting.” 

Julie looked up, wide eyed and slightly panicked, “We don’t even have the location yet. Oh no, I don’t even know what she’d like.” 

Carrie gently hit Julie’s head, “Don’t act so worried when you have event planning extraordinaire Carrie Wilson on your side. I could get you a dozen bouquets right now if I wanted to.” 

“But I don’t think Flynn will want that.” 

The other woman rolled her eyes, “That’s why we’re going to figure out what she wants once Nick gets back here.”

Nick walked into the room with an arm full of drinks, ”What are we talking about?” 

“Just the man I wanted to see!” Carrie exclaimed, placing her hand on her heart. 

The man squinted in Carrie’s direction before handing Julie a soda, “You’ve never said that to me before.” 

Carrie didn’t even pretend to look offended, “There is a first time for everything, Nick, and that time is now. We need to talk location for this love confession.”

“Hm, I don’t know, some place private?”

“I need specifics, Nick. Would she like a full out garden look or does she like minimalism? Would she want lights? Flowers?”

“I don’t really know. Flynn hasn’t really been interested in dating anyone until, well, now.”

Carrie huffed, before a slow smile spread on her lips, “Nick, you said that you watch The Bachelorette with Flynn every Tuesday?” 

“Yea...why?” 

“I’m considering myself invited,” Carrie replied, looking like a cat who got the cream. 

“What? Why?” Julie cut into the conversation, looking incredulously at Carrie.

“What’s a better way to learn someone's romantic preferences then through The Bachelorette?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The collaboration between Carrie and Julie that Nick listens to on his way to work sounds like Potential Breakup Song btw. It was important to me that you knew that. 
> 
> Check out my tumblr, lovelies: threeghosts-nobraincells


	9. Bachelorette Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I break things up with hearts! This chapter is pretty short, but I couldn't resist writing this concept when I thought of it. Hope you enjoy Bachelorette night with the gang! Remember that comments and kudos are highly appreciated <3.

Nick couldn't help but anxiously glance at his phone when the weekly Bachelorette viewing rolled around. He wasn’t sure if Carrie was being serious about showing up, but usually that girl never jokes around. Despite not even get a text or anything from the girl, he assumed that the rapid knock on the door was indeed Carrie. Nick tried to come off like he didn’t know who it was when Flynn looked at him, confusion on her face. She eventually got up to answer the door when there was a second set of knocks. 

Upon opening the door, much to her surprise, she saw Carrie Wilson standing on the other side. 

Carrie didn't wait for Flynn to say anything before walking into the apartment while saying, “Hello, besties! I have brought all kinds of goodies for our viewing of The Bachelorette.” 

“...hi? Carrie?” Flynn said, shutting the door and looking at the other women like she was an enigma.

Nick popped his head out from the living room entrance, “Oh my god, Carrie, I wasn’t expecting you to actually come.” 

Carrie scoffed as if she was offended, “Of course I did. I may be a busy woman but I always have time for The Bachelorette, Nicolas.” 

“Uh, wait, are you two, like, hanging out one on one? You didn’t even do that back in high school.” 

Nick made a wishy washing movement with his hand, and Carrie simply shrugged while saying, “I guess we are.” 

Flynn watched as Carrie began to pull a bunch of snacks and makeup out of her giant bag before she asked, “Um, aren’t you supposed to be on tour?” 

“So many questions, Flynn,” Carrie didn’t pause for Flynn to respond, “Our tour came to an end, so we’re in California working on some fresh new music. So, I’m planning on being in town for a while.” 

Again, Flynn looked between Carrie and Nick with a suspicious eye, “When did you guys start talking again?” 

Carrie didn’t even hesitant in her response, sending Nick a quick glare so that he wouldn’t say anything, “We saw each other Eat&Beats and got talking. He mentioned that you guys were still friends and I wanted to reconnect. Hence, why I’m here, Flynn, so try and act a little more excited.” 

Nick awkwardly nodded along with the story as Flynn looked between them in a few seconds of contemplative silence. She decided that it wasn’t really worth questioning even if they were acting weird. It was good to see Carrie again even if it was highly expected. 

Flynn patted Carrie’s head before teasingly saying, “I am so thrilled that the Carrie Wilson graced me with her presence.” 

Carrie rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips, “Still as sarcastic as I remember.” 

“Duh. It’s my signature weapon.” 

“The show is starting,” Nick commented from the living room causing the two girls to go and sit down. As the show started, Carrie continued to pull out various snacks and self care products from her pink, sparkling bag. 

“How much stuff do you even have in there?” Flynn asked, as Carrie continued to pull more stuff out of the bag, “It’s like Mary Poppins bag.”

“Well, I have your favorite snacks, at least what they were in high school,” Carrie replied, placing a bag of jalapeno potato chips in Flynn’s lap, “And my precious face masks that I will so generously share with you.” 

“Oh my god, you’re the best.” 

“I know.”

\--<3--

As the night went on, Nick could see Carrie taking mental notes from everything Flynn said. Even with the face mask, he could see the gears turning and the plans formulating. It was almost incredible to watch.

Whenever Flynn ripped into one of the men for pulling some stunt to get the girl to notice him, Carrie cataloged it into her brain. Which guys Flynn liked or disliked were noted to see if their personalities were indicative of anything. Currently, the couple had finished the main events of the date and were now talking back and forth about their past. 

Flynn munched on a chip before commenting, “Aw, that’s actually sweet for this show.”

“They’re just eating dinner and talking,” Carrie commented, squinting at the screen. 

The other woman rolled her eyes, “Well, yea, but it’s way more cute and personal than when they do weird wedding photoshoots as a date.” 

“The wedding photoshoot was weird. I'll give you that,” Carrie relented before tacking on, “but I like the elaborate dates, sometimes. If you can go skydiving with a hot person then why not?” 

“Skydiving feels like a committed relationship activity,” Nick remarked.

Flynn nodded in Nick's direction, “Totally! I mean, I’m not about to trust someone I’ve been on like two dates with enough to jump out of a plane with them. We can skydive when we’re married but a first date should be like flowers and getting to know each other.” 

Carrie shrugged, holding back a smile, “To each their own.” 

She looked over at Nick when Flynn wasn’t looking and gave him a thumbs up. Carrie had her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that once everything is figured out, Julie joins in on the weekly Bachelorette or Bachelor viewings. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading thus far! If you want to interact with me, check out my tumblr: threeghosts-nobraincells! I love getting any commentary on my fics.


	10. Make You Feel My Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that I break up things in my fics with hearts, loves!! 
> 
> We're finally here!! Thank you so much for sticking with me, kind reader, and giving this fanfic a chance. You're all lovely and I hope you enjoy the ending. 
> 
> Song lyrics from: Make You Feel My Love by Adele

Carrie’s plan was quite simple really. From what she gathered, Flynn was a sucker for flowers and intimacy. So, she tried to combine the two. That’s why she had contacted Ray Molina to see if they could use the old studio in their house. The man had been surprisingly kind about letting them use the studio for what Carrie had vaguely described as ‘helping Julie face her fears’. 

Once she had gotten permission, Carrie began to gather all kinds of flowers to place around the garage along with twinkle lights. All those contacts of hers came in handy after all. And she guessed Nick helped a lot because he was willing to go on a ladder for her and hang up all the lights. 

When it was complete, Carrie had smiled to herself with pride. It was simple yet intimate. Just what Flynn wanted. 

\--<3--

“What are we doing outside my childhood home?” Julie had asked, confused, as her two best friends pulled her towards her old studio.

“We set this up, with your dad’s permission, of course,” Nick opened the garage door and revealed twinkling lights and flowers set up around the garage, “You can sing that song you wrote for Flynn here.” 

Julie was speechless as she walked into the decorated room, “Guys...this is beautiful.” 

Carrie had told Julie that she was setting up the perfect setting, as she called it, but refused to tell her where exactly that was. Julie would have wanted to help set up everything and, based on her perfectionist tendencies with the song, Carrie didn’t exactly want that. 

“Nothing less for the best,” Carrie said with pride, “Nick is going to go pick up Flynn whenever you’re ready.” 

Julie’s whipped around to face the two, “Wait, I-I don’t think I’m ready to do it now. I mean. I really, really appreciate you guys setting this up for us, but what if she rejects me? I hurt her...I don’t know why’d she forgive me.” 

Nick placed a comforting hand on Julie’s shoulder, “Believe me, Julie, she loves you, but she doesn’t know you love her back. You’ve been preparing to show her exactly how much you love her. You’ll do amazing.” 

“Thanks, Nick, I just don’t know,” Julie started to head out of the garage, “I need some fresh air and a second to think. I’ll be right back.” 

Nick almost stopped her, but Carrie shook her head while putting a placating hand on his arm, “Give her some time.” 

Julie plopped down on the stone steps leading up to her house, rubbing her face with her hands. She thought about facing rejection from Flynn, properly losing her forever and going back to being a stranger who used to know her like the back of her hand. Every smile, laugh or hug could be gone with one sentence out of Flynn’s mouth and that...that scared Julie. She lost her once, and she didn’t know if she could do it again. 

Just as she was about to get up, head inside and tell the others that she couldn’t do it, a blue butterfly landed delicately on the stone stair in front of her. She stared at it as it flapped its wings and crawled across the stone. 

She remembered what Flynn had said about signs back when they were younger; how a sign from her mother had given her the courage to get on the Orpheum stage. Somehow, this butterfly felt like a sign. A sign from someone she missed so much telling her to take the leap of faith.

The butterfly flew off into the sky and Julie looked up, a burst of emotions in her chest, to say, “Thank you. Thank you so much for everything.” 

Bursting back into the studio, Julie announced, “I’m going to do this! Go get Flynn, Nick, right now before I chicken out!” 

“Yes!” Nick exclaimed before he quickly got up to leave the studio. 

Julie sat down at the piano, playing a few cords. Carrie walked over, crossing her arms, with a soft look in her eyes, “What made you change your mind? I didn’t think you were coming back.” 

Julie smiled gently, running a hand over the piano keys, “I got a sign from someone special, I think.” 

Carrie nodded, even though she wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, before she pulled something out of her pocket, “I think these belong to you.” 

Carrie held out Flynn’s two bracelets and Julie looked up, “Where did you get these?” 

“You left them at my house after Flynn confessed to you. I thought you’d want them back.” 

“I do,” she took them and put them in her jacket pocket, “Thank you, Carrie, for everything. You know, if someone told me that you would be doing this much for me before everything with Caleb, I don’t think I would’ve believed them.” 

“Sometimes, I don’t believe I’m doing all this either, but...you deserve it,” she shrugged, hiding her smile, “I guess.” 

“That’s one of the sweetest things you’ve said to me, Carrie.” 

“Don’t get used to it,” Carrie retorted as she pulled out her phone, “Nick says he’s heading over.” 

Julie took a deep breath, shaking out her clammy hands, “It’s now or never.” 

“You got this, babe,” Carrie squeezed Julie’s shoulder before she made her way out of the studio to the planned hiding spot that she and Nick had chosen. 

Seeing that she was alone now, Julie whispered into the air, “Hey guys, I know we haven't talked in a while, but I wanted to say that I hope you've seen my mom. I think you have because you sent me a sign like she did. Thanks for the sign, by the way, guys. I hope you’re right about this."

Flynn’s voice shot into the air, making Julie’s head shoot up from the piano keys, “Nick, you lied to me! I am not going in there. I’ve embarrassed myself enough as it is.” 

There was a sound of a struggle before Flynn was basically shoved into the studio, the door quickly shutting behind her. 

“...they’re holding the doors closed,” Flynn scowled, “Real mature you two! We’re not sixteen anymore, so let me out!” 

“Hey,” Julie said, looking at Flynn with hope in her eyes. Even though the other girl seemed less than thrilled to be here, this was Julie's second chance at getting love. 

Flynn let out a tiny sigh, and turned around, “Hey, you don’t have to try and reject me in song or...woah, it looks different in here. Your dad doing some new decorating or something?” 

“No, the decorations are for you, Flynn. I got some help from Nick and Carrie, but I also wrote a song for you. Can I sing it for you?” 

There was a hesitation before Flynn quietly said, “Okay. Go ahead.”

Julie began to play, barely looking at the sheet music, feeling the music flow. She was used to playing the song but having Flynn there made it an entirely different experience. Even though Flynn refused to meet her eyes, Julie still felt electricity crackle under her skin at the sight of her. Nerves sent prickles up and down her spine but she kept going anyways. 

_“When the rain is blowing in your face and the whole world is on your case. I could offer you a warm embrace to make you feel my love,”_ Flynn finally met her eyes when she heard those lyrics. Julie could see that Flynn was looking for some kind of joke in her words, but she kept going. 

As the lyrics went on, Flynn took in everything around her. The lights, the flowers, the song. Julie. They were all there for her. It was almost overwhelming. 

_“The storms are raging on the rolling sea and on the highway of regret. Though winds of change are throwing wild and free. You ain't seen nothing like me yet. I could make you happy, make your dreams come true,”_ Flynn started to cry happy tears as Julie sang to her. A big, wide grin on her face as tears ran down.

Julie abandoned the piano, singing the last lyrics as she walked towards Flynn, _“Nothing that I wouldn't do. Go to the ends of the Earth for you. To make you feel my love. To make you feel my love.”_

There was a hesitancy to it, but Julie gently grabbed one of Flynn’s hands. When their hands connected, Julie could swear that she could feel light traveling through their touch. She didn’t know how she never noticed it before. Flynn was her everything. Manicured hands, bright smile and sarcastic attitude. That was her everything. 

Flynn wiped the tears off her cheek and laughed, “You made me cry, you asshole.” 

Julie brushed the other girl's cheek of a tear, smiling, “I hope that those are happy tears?”

She nodded, quickly, and held Julie’s hand to her cheek, “Happy, happy tears.”

They stayed in this moment for a little while. The only thing that mattered was the two of them in the studio sharing light filled touches. There was a nostalgia that came with the scene. They had lived through this moment before, but now it was in a different, beautiful lens. Life had brought them together so that they could both live again in this lens. The same places and people with different, revised scenes. 

Julie reached into her pocket, taking out the two bracelets, “I thought you would want these back.”

Flynn looked at the faded bracelets before pushing the Julies offering hand away from her. She shook her head, “I think that we need to make new ones. Those were losing their colors anyways.”

This made Julie smile brightly as Flynn continued, “This is going to make magazine covers, you know? ‘Potential new girlfriend for famous singer, Julie Molina? What could the matching bracelets mean?’”

“...girlfriend?”

“Julie,” Flynn rolled her eyes, affection lacing her features, “This was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me, so I really hope that you want to be my girlfriend.” 

"You actually want to be my girlfriend?" Julie asked, delightfully. 

Flynn leaned up on her toes and kissed Julie's nose, "Yes, yes, I do. I really do." 

Letting out a small noise of happiness, Julie leaned in, without really thinking about it, and pressed a kiss to Flynn's lips. It wasn’t much but it was real. It wasn’t a dream or a fantasy from the past. They were there in each other's arms, and it was real. So, so real. Julie pulled away and they looked at each other, soft and sweet. 

Flynn sighed wistfully, “I could get used to that.”

“Me too.” Julie pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Flynn’s mouth. 

Outside, Carrie and Nick may or may not have been peeking through the studio windows to see what was happening. When they saw the two girls kiss, Nick whipped around to Carrie excitedly. 

"Up top, partner!" He held up his hand for a high five. 

Carrie looked at it and shook her head, "No, absolutely not." 

Nick still held his hand up, "Come on. Come onnnnn! Just one little high five." 

Carrie rolled her eyes, but he could see the small smile that she was trying to fight off, "Fine. Just this once." 

Once they high fived, Julie opened the door to the garbage to yell, "Come in here you two!" 

They looked at each other, Nick with a wide grin on his face and Carrie with a smaller, less noticeable one. They walked into the studio where they were both pulled into a group hug by Julie and Flynn. 

"Where would we be without you guys?" Julie asked, squeezing Carrie. 

"You guys would have figured it o-," Nick got cut off by Carrie. 

"Still pining after each other like two love sick idiots." 

Julie giggled, a bright smile on her face, "Never change, Carrie." 

They hugged each other tighter, all laughing. And, while she was in this group hug, Julie could swear that she felt the guys smiling down at her. She was at peace. She was ready to face life again. For those that were above her. For Nick and Carrie. Flynn, however...she was ready to face life with Flynn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was cheesy, but that's my favorite type of romance tbh. I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Anyways, I would love any of you to come talk with me on my tumblr: threeghosts-nobraincells.


End file.
